Baseball-batting cage

ABSTRACT

A sport practice cage is disclosed enclosed on top, back and sides and with slidable front panels for defining selectable obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of the cage. A corner post and rope-tensioning panel support structure is disclosed with a corner member for connection of ropes on three mutually perpendicular axes.

United States Patent Inventor Douglas L. Boehner Santa Cruz, Calif. 813,619 Apr. 4, 1969 July 20. 1971 Port-O-Net lnc,

' Santa Cruz, Calif.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee BASEBALL-BATTING CAGE 13 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl

Int. Cl Field 01 Search I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 499,240 6/1893 Mann 579,373 Wolbrecht.. .1 135/1 653,993 7/1900 Forty v l 135/8 1,871,101 8/1932 Waltz 135/] X 3,222,067 12/1965 Litwhiler et a1 273/26 3,475,025 10/1969 Uphaus 273/25 Primary Examiner--Anton 0. Oechsle Assistant ExaminerTheatrice Brown AttorneyLimbach, Limbach & Sutton ABSTRACT: A sport practice cage is disclosed enclosed on top, back and sides and with slidable front panels for defining selectable obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of the cage. A comer post and rope tensioning panel support structure is disclosed with a corner member for connection of ropes on three mutually perpendicular axes.

BASEBALL-BATTING CAGE The present invention relates in general to a sport practice cage and, more particularly, to a cage suitable for batting practice or defining different obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of the cage for permitting entrance and exit of sport balls through selectable different regions.

Various different sport practices cages, such as pitching and batting cages, have been constructed in the past for presenting passage of sport balls, such as baseballs, therethrough and/or presenting targets for passage of such balls. For example, US. PAT. No. 2,126,102 to R. A. Fowler discloses a baseballpitching cage with a back stopping net preventing balls passing therebeyond and a target region for aiming pitched balls thereinto. US. Pat. No. 3,222,06Tto Litwhiler et'al. discloses an enclosed batting cage with a window in the front panel thereof approximating the batting strike zone permitting only balls pitched in the strike zone to pass into the cage and consequently only balls hit directly out from the strike zone through the window to pass out of the cage. While such cages permit pitching and batting practice to go on in several such cages located at selected positions on an existing ball diamond without having balls directed to certain other regions, the cages do not provide for adjustment of the ball-passing target. Thus, in the Litwhiler et al. patent, only balls pitched into the strike zone reach a batter positioned within the cage. Therefore, the tbatter gets no practice at being exposed to balls pitched other than in the strike zone. A cage is desired that will either permit or insure that the balls passing thereinto are out of the strike zone to give a batter an opportunity tosharpen his judgement on the bounds of the strike zone. Similarly, these cages do not enable a batter to practice hitting into a particular area, such as into the opposite field to which he usually bats.

Broadly stated, the present invention is directed to a batting cage including a plurality of front panels at least partially transparent for permitting observation of sport balls therethrough but preventing passage of sport balls therethrough and means for slidably supporting these front panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed areas in front of'the cage. With the present invention, the front panels can be adjusted to narrow or widen a strike zone or open only one side of the cage for forced practice of the batter to hit into a selected region of the ballfield.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the batting cage as described above is provided with a front top flap which, when fully extended downwardly, extends down to a height above the bottom of the front panel and approximating the height of the strike zone for a short batter. By utilizing this aspect of the present invention, the front top flap can be adjusted to the height of the strike zone for different batters or to permit passage of balls in selected regions beyond the height of the strike zone to enable a batter to sharpen his batting eye.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a sport practice cage is provided includinga roof panel, first and second panels connected at opposite sides of the roof panel, a back panel connected to the roof panel between the sides and front panel means for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of the cage below the roof panel, comerposts for erection at the corners of the roof panel for supporting cage, and edge support cords eittending alohg the margin of the roof panel to the cornerposts, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across the roof panel between comers and support cords extending diagonally to the ground for supporting the batting cage. With-this construction, a batting cage can be easily and quickly assembled in place by connecting the edge and cross cords at the corners near the top of the comerposts and connecting the free end of the support cords to stakes in the ground which will hold the cagerin upright position.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a tensioning cord is provided between the diagonal portions of support cords that extend to the ground and substantially the midportion of said cornerposts for adjusting the supporting tension on top corners ofthe cage.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a corner member is provided such as for connecting the edge ropes and the cross ropes to the corner members and comprising a main body, including three arms, projecting therefrom when in flattened position in plane with the axis of each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270 with respect to the axis of the other two arms and with each arm including at least a pair of spaced-apart apertures therein for receiving an edge support cord and means connected to said main body for connecting said main lbody to a cornerpost with the main body portion formed of a material sufficiently flexible that the arms can be deformed to align with three mutually perpendicular axes at the corner of the cage. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, the supporting ropes or cords for the cage can easily be attached and held together at the comers for ease in fabrication ofthe cage as well as ease in assembly ofthe cage on location.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present inven tion, the corner member described in the preceding paragraph includes a fourth arm portion projecting from the main body portion between a pair of such arms and including at least one aperture therein for receiving a diagonally extending tensioning line.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent when reading the following description and referring to the accompanying drawing in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a sport practice cage in accordance with the invention with the front of the cage open for operation in one mode;

FIGS. 2,3 and 4 are perspective views of the first portion of the structure shown in FIG. I for operation in different modes;

FIGS. IA-4A are schematic, reduced plan views of'the structures shown in FIGS. l-4, respectively, showing the operation of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of that portion of the structure shown in FIG. 1 delineated by line 5-5.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a corner member in accordance with this invention and in flat form.

While the present invention is directed to sport practice cages for use in numerous sports, such as baseball, golf, tennis, etc., it has specific advantages when used for baseball practice and for purposes of illustrative example will be described as a baseball-batting cage.

Referring now to the drawings, with particular reference to FIG. I, there is shown 'a sport practice cage ll suitable for baseballbattingpractice and wherein the cage includes a roof panel I2, side panels l3.and 1'4, and a back panel 15. While these panels 12, l3, l4 and 15 can be of any suitable material, such as cloth, plastic, or canvas, to prevent passage of the practice ball therethrough, netting is preferred for the construction of these panels. Also, while the cage is shown as enclosing a substantially square horizontal area for advantageous use with one individual, the cage can enclose a rectangular horizontal area for use by a number of individuals practicing at the same time along ,the lengthrof the cage. In the case of a rectangular cage, divider panels can be pro vided ihteriorly to separate the different practice areas.

While the panels can be supported by various types of support structures, the preferred'support structure includes cords woven through the mesh of the netting. As illustrated, edge cords, typically ropes, 16 define the margins between the panels l2, l3, l4 and I5, and a pair of cross cords 17 extend diagonally across the roof panel 12 and woven through the mesh thereof to the corners thereof. Corner support members 18, to be described in greater detail below are provided at each corner of thecage and adapted for attachment of the cords l6 and 17 thereto. These corner members 18 are connected, such as by hooks, to support posts, one of which is located at each corner of the cage A corner support cord 17 connected near the top of each cornerpost 19, such as by eyebolts, extends diagonally to a stake 21 in the ground.

A tension-adjusting cord 22 extends from a portion of each support cord 17' between the cornerposts and the ground over to an attachment means, such as a hook bolt 23, midway in the height of the corner posts 19. By utilizing a link chain for this tension adjustment cord 22, tension adjustment can be made conveniently by hooking different links of the chain on the hook bolt 23.

A front top flap 24 extends between the two side panels 13 and 14 but extends downwardly only part way from the roof panel 12 toward the ground so that the bottom edge of this flap 24 can be positioned at a selected height such as to approximate the top of a strike zone or thereabove. This front flap 24 includes the cords 16 on the lower ends to adjust the position of the lower edge of the flap 24. While the panels l2, l3, l4, l and 24 can be separate panels secured together by lacing or edge cords 16, these panels are preferably made as one flat piece and the side and back panels subsequently laced together by edge cords l6.

The corner support member 18 formed flat of a flexible material such as nylon for partial deformation when put in use includes a main body 25 and three arms 26, 27 and 28 projecting therefrom in the same plane and in flat position with the axis of each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270 with respect to the axes of the other two arms. For attaching the edge cords 16 to the corner support member 16, each of the arms includes a pair of apertures a and b spaced apart along the length thereof for permitting an edge cord 16 to pass through the aperture closest the free end thereof, lace through the netting, pass back through the other aperture and knot for tensioning the cord 16 and supporting the cage panels when the cage is erected. When the cage is erected and tension applied, the arms 26, 27 and 28 align along the three mutually perpendicular axes of the comer. The main body portion 25 includes a loop portion 29 projecting out of the plane of the body for preventing connection of the comer support member 18 to the cornerpost 19 by hooking the loop over a hook on the cornerpost. For the top corners of the cage 11 where the cross cords l7 intersect the corners, the support member 18 includes a fourth arm 30 between two of the other arms and provided with at least one aperture for passing the cross cord 17 therethrough and knotting.

A plurality of front panels 31 and 32 are provided substantially the same length as the side panels 13 and 14 but of a width typically no greater than the opening in the front of the cage divided by the number of front panels. For example, where two front panels are employed, each is of a width approximately half the width of the front opening between sides 12 and 13. When more than two individuals are practicing in the cage, more than two front panels can be used to advantage.

The front panels 31 and 32 are slidably supported in vertical position between top and bottom support cords 33 extending between the front cornerposts 19 with the cords 33 laced through the mesh at the top edge of the front panels 31 and 32 for adjustment of the panels 31 and 32 laterally across the front opening of the cage to selectively close certain front portions of the cage. With this capability, the front panels can be pushed to approximate a strike zone or open sides of the batting cage to enable the practicing batter to hit to selected fields.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and IA, the front panels are withdrawn to the sides of the batting cage to permit the batter to hit in all directions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, the front panels are drawn to approximate a strike zone and in FIGS. 3 and 3A and 4 and 4A, the rightand left-hand front panels, respectively, are withdrawn to enable the batter to practice hitting to right and left fields, respectively.

In FIG. 1 the front top flap 24 is folded back over the roof panel [2 to completely open the front of the cage; in FIG. 2

the flap 24 is dropped down to its full extent defining the top of the strike Zone for short batters; and in FIGS. 3 and 4 the flap 24 is raised to the strike zone for tall batters either by partially folding back over the roof panel 12 (FIG. 3) or looping over the support cord 33 for the front panels (FIG. 4). By selecting a low height for the flap, batting practice can be controlled for line drives and grounders and eliminating flyballs.

While the above description is sufficient description to ena ble a person skilled in the art to practice the invention, a specific example of a commercially available practice cage in accordance with this invention can be given. A one-man batting cage 9 feet high and 14 feet square made of 2-inch mesh polyethylene netting 030 cord, weighs 20 pounds; A inch nylon rope is utilized for he edge and cross cords and front panel support cord; a link chain is used for the tensionadjusting cord and 9-foot, l-inch diameter steel tubing for the cornerposts.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the in vention as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sport practice cage ofthe type including a roof panel, a pair of side panels, a rear panel, and means for supporting said panel, the improvement comprising a plurality of front panels, at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough, and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting independent of each other and vertically holding said front panels between said side panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed vertical areas in the front of the practice cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough.

2. The sport practice cage in accordance with claim I wherein the total width of all of said front panels is substan tially equal to the width between said pair of side panels.

3. The sport practice cage of claim 1 including a front top flap of a length to extend from said roof panel down over only a portion of the top of said front panel and means for mounting said front top flap at the top front of the cage foldable at least partially over the roof panel of the cage.

4. The sport practice cage of claim 3 wherein said front top flap when fully extended downwardly extends down over said front panels to a height above the bottom of the front panels approximating the height of a strike zone.

5. The sport practice cage of claim 1 wherein said supporting means includes cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, edge cords defining the edges of said roof panel and diagonal cross cords extending between corners of said top panel to adjacent the tops of said cornerposts and support cords extending from adjacent the post tops diagonally to the ground.

6. In a sport practice cage of the type including a roof panel, a pair of side panels, a rear panel, and means for supporting said panels, the improvement comprising a plurality of front panels, at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough, and means for slidably supporting said front panels between said side panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed areas in the front of the practice cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough, said supporting means including cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, edge cords defining the edgesof said roof panel, diagonal cross cords extending between comers of said top panel to adjacent the tops of said cornerposts and support cords extending from adjacent the post tops diagonally to the ground, and a tensionadjusting cord between said support cord and substantially the midportion of said cornerposts for adjusting the supporting tension on said cross cords and said roof panel.

7. The sport practice cage of claim 6 wherein said supporting means further includes a corner member at each corner of said cage and comprising a main body including three arms projecting therefrom when in flattened position in a plane with the axis of each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270 with respect to the axis of the other two arms and with each arm including at least a pair of spaced-apart apertures therein for receiving an edge support cord and means connected to said main body for connecting said main body to a cornerpost, said main body portion being flexible such that said arms can be deformed to align with three mutually perpendicular axes.

8. The sport practice cage of claim 7 including a fourth arm portion projecting from said main body portion of said corner member between a pair of said arms and including at least one aperture therein for receiving a cross-tensioning cord.

9. A sport practice cage comprising a plurality of wall panels for preventing passage ofa sports ball therefrom in certain directions, means for supporting said wall panels, a plurality of front panels at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting and vertically holding said front panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed areas in the front of said cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough.

10. A sport practice cage comprising a roof panel, first and second side panels connected to opposite sides of said roof panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, a plurality of front panels at least partially transparent for the observing without passing sport balls thcrethrough and the total width of which is substantially the width of said roof panel between said side panels and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting and vertically holding said front panels when said roof panel is in elevated position for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when in an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corners of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, crossvsupport cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel and support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground.

11. The cage structure of claim 10 including a front top flap of a length when fully extended downwardly from the top of the cage extends down over said front panel to a height above the bottom of the front panel approximately the height of a strike zone and means for mounting said front top flap at top partially over the roof panel panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, and front panel means for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when in an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corners of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel and support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground, said connecting means including a corner member at each corner of said cage and comprising a main body including three arms projectin therefrom when in flattened position in a plane with the axis 0 each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270 with respect to' the axis of the two arms and with each arm including at least a pair of spaced-apart apertures therein for receiving an edge support cord and means connected to said main body for connecting said main body to a cornerpost, said main body portion being flexible such that said arms can be deformed to align with three mutually perpendicular axes.

13. A sport practice cage comprising a roof panel, first and second side panels connected to opposite sides of said roof panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, and front panel means for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when in an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corner of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground, and a tension-adjusting cord between the diagonal connecting support cords and substantially the midportion of said cornerposts for adjusting the supporting tension on said cords and said roof panel. 

1. In a sport practice cage of the type including a roof panel, a pair of side panels, a rear panel, and means for supporting said panel, the improvement comprising a plurality of front panels, at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough, and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting independent of each other and vertically holding said front panels between said side panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed vertical areas in the front of the practice cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough.
 2. The sport practice cage in accordance with claim 1 wherein the total width of all of said front panels is substantially equal to the width between said pair of side panels.
 3. The sport practice cage of claim 1 including a front top flap of a length to extend from said roof panel down over only a portion of the top of said front panel and means for mounting said front top flap at the top front of the cage foldable aT least partially over the roof panel of the cage.
 4. The sport practice cage of claim 3 wherein said front top flap when fully extended downwardly extends down over said front panels to a height above the bottom of the front panels approximating the height of a strike zone.
 5. The sport practice cage of claim 1 wherein said supporting means includes cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, edge cords defining the edges of said roof panel and diagonal cross cords extending between corners of said top panel to adjacent the tops of said cornerposts and support cords extending from adjacent the post tops diagonally to the ground.
 6. In a sport practice cage of the type including a roof panel, a pair of side panels, a rear panel, and means for supporting said panels, the improvement comprising a plurality of front panels, at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough, and means for slidably supporting said front panels between said side panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed areas in the front of the practice cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough, said supporting means including cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, edge cords defining the edges of said roof panel, diagonal cross cords extending between corners of said top panel to adjacent the tops of said cornerposts and support cords extending from adjacent the post tops diagonally to the ground, and a tension-adjusting cord between said support cord and substantially the midportion of said cornerposts for adjusting the supporting tension on said cross cords and said roof panel.
 7. The sport practice cage of claim 6 wherein said supporting means further includes a corner member at each corner of said cage and comprising a main body including three arms projecting therefrom when in flattened position in a plane with the axis of each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270* with respect to the axis of the other two arms and with each arm including at least a pair of spaced-apart apertures therein for receiving an edge support cord and means connected to said main body for connecting said main body to a cornerpost, said main body portion being flexible such that said arms can be deformed to align with three mutually perpendicular axes.
 8. The sport practice cage of claim 7 including a fourth arm portion projecting from said main body portion of said corner member between a pair of said arms and including at least one aperture therein for receiving a cross-tensioning cord.
 9. A sport practice cage comprising a plurality of wall panels for preventing passage of a sports ball therefrom in certain directions, means for supporting said wall panels, a plurality of front panels at least partially transparent for observing without passing sport balls therethrough and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting and vertically holding said front panels for defining different obstructed and unobstructed areas in the front of said cage respectively for obstructing and unobstructing passage of a sport ball therethrough.
 10. A sport practice cage comprising a roof panel, first and second side panels connected to opposite sides of said roof panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, a plurality of front panels at least partially transparent for the observing without passing sport balls therethrough and the total width of which is substantially the width of said roof panel between said side panels and means at the top and bottom of said front panels for slidably supporting and vertically holding said front panels when said roof panel is in elevated position for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when iN an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corners of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel and support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground.
 11. The cage structure of claim 10 including a front top flap of a length when fully extended downwardly from the top of the cage extends down over said front panel to a height above the bottom of the front panel approximately the height of a strike zone and means for mounting said front top flap at top front of the cage foldable at least partially over the roof panel of the cage.
 12. A sport practice cage comprising a roof panel, first and second side panels connected to opposite sides of said roof panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, and front panel means for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when in an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corners of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel and support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground, said connecting means including a corner member at each corner of said cage and comprising a main body including three arms projecting therefrom when in flattened position in a plane with the axis of each arm oriented at an angle of substantially 270* with respect to the axis of the two arms and with each arm including at least a pair of spaced-apart apertures therein for receiving an edge support cord and means connected to said main body for connecting said main body to a cornerpost, said main body portion being flexible such that said arms can be deformed to align with three mutually perpendicular axes.
 13. A sport practice cage comprising a roof panel, first and second side panels connected to opposite sides of said roof panel for depending downwardly from said roof panel when said roof panel is located in an elevated position, a back panel connected to said roof panel adapted for depending downwardly therefrom between said side panels, and front panel means for defining obstructed and unobstructed regions in the front of said cage below said roof panel and between said side panels when in an elevated position, cornerposts for erection at the corner of said roof panel for supporting said cage, edge support cords extending along the margins of said roof panel and connected thereto for supporting said cage between the corners of said roof panel, cross support cords connected to and extending diagonally across said roof panel between the corners thereof, means for connecting said edge cords and said cross cords to said cornerposts at the corners of said roof panel, support cords for connecting the tops of said support posts diagonally to the ground, and a tension-adjusting cord between the diagonal connecting support cords and substantially the midportion of said cornerposts for adjusting the supporting tension on said cords and said roof panel. 